While women have been helping other women have abortions for centuries, self-induced abortions have an equally long history.  (“The New Abortion Underground,” by Nina Liss-Schultz, Mother Jones, March/April, 2018, pg. 49).  Generally, the procedures were safe. Nonetheless, in th

Crispr is a technique that has added a large body of knowledge to our understanding of the human genome. (Click) (Click)  It is a gene-editing technique which allows human DNA to be altered in the hope of ending deadly diseases like cancer and sickle-cell anemia. Two women worked tog

In 1936, Aldous Huxley observed that if democracy is to work, one must govern with the consent of the people.  (“Modern Despots,” by Aldous Huxley, reprinted for a 1936 article in Harper’s, February 18, 2018, pg. 37.)  Thanks to gerrymandering and the Electoral College, who co

Four years ago, I wrote a blog in which I quoted 29- year-old Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, as saying young people were smarter than anyone else.  (Click) By my math, he turned 34 on May 14 of this year, and when I read his recent testimony before Congress, I had to smile. (Clic

Recently, I spiced up a blog (2/2/2017) with a little alphabet profanity: WTF.  A couple of readers chuckled and seemed surprised that I either knew or would use the expression.  I may have been a school teacher at one time, but life in the Labor movement and in politics gave me a r

What if children in this country were treated as precious commodities, the way the desert treats rain drops?  What if each infant were given sufficient nurturing – healthy meals, a safe environment and a decent education?  What would our society look like in the future?  We’ll

I continue to be amazed at how little we humans know ourselves: how our brains work, what motivations govern us — many of which are unconscious — and how technology alters our mental processes. Take, for example, the GPS systems in today’s cars.  Not only does research

I recall in my college readings a story about David Hume, a philosopher of the 18th century, who believed only what his eyes confirmed — though he was wary of that information as well.  During a conversation with the literary figure James Boswell, Hume asserted a gap existed be

Stanley Bing is a columnist who appears regularly on the last page of the monthly editions of Fortune Magazine.  I don’t know why he’s included among serious speculations about the stock market and China’s currency.  But he is.  And he makes me laugh. This May he

Years ago, while having a friendly discussion with a psychologist, I reached across the coffee table to pat his hand. He’d said something amusing and my reaction had been automatic. “You know what’ve you done?” he said, when I’d settled back in my chair. “You’ve anchored